Tuesday, September 08, 2015

Scientists warn against 'cruel and pointless' badger culls


The controversial badger cull in England is underway for the first time in Dorset and has restarted for the third year in Gloucestershire and Somerset, the government has confirmed.

The cull, intended to curb tuberculosis in cattle, aims to kill 1,000-2,000 badgers over six weeks. Over 32,000 TB-infected cattle were slaughtered in 2014 and farmers welcomed the cull.

But previous badger culls have failed to meet targets, raising the risk that culling could actually increase TB infections in cattle as setts are disrupted and badgers roam more widely.

On Wednesday, senior scientists, including one appointed by the government to independently assess the cull, called for an end to the policy. The independent panel, now disbanded, found earlier culls were neither effective nor humane.

Claire Bass, of the Humane Society International/UK said the re-start of the cull was devastating news: “For a third year running these supposedly protected animals will be subjected to a cruel and pointless death, scapegoats of the government’s failed cattle TB policy. We will continue to campaign to end this inhumane and unscientific massacre.”


TODAY'S BIG CAT NEWS

The hunt for British Big Cats attracts far more newspaper-column inches than any other cryptozoological subject. 

There are so many of them now that we feel that they should be archived by us in some way, so we are publishing a regular round-up of the stories as they come in. 

The worldwide mystery cat phenomenon (or group of phenomena, if we are to be more accurate) is not JUST about cryptozoology. At its most basic level it is about the relationship between our species and various species of larger cat. That is why sometimes you will read stories here that appear to have nothing to do with cryptozoology but have everything to do with human/big cat interaction. As committed Forteans, we believe that until we understand the nature of these interactions, we have no hope of understanding the truth that we are seeking.

  • NEWSLINK: Noel Marshall's 'Roar' Dated for Blu-ray...
  • NEWSLINK: Big Cats Relocated to Pine County
  • ARTICLE: 7 tigers moved to Kuno after 2010: Study

  • NEWSLINK: Big cat sanctuary seeks donations to hel...
  • FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES

    What has Corinna's column of Fortean bird news got to do with cryptozoology?

    Well, everything, actually!

    In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that whereas the study of out-of-place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot or lake monsters, it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean zoologist to be interested in.


    BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF



    Watch: Bigfoot and Deer Caught on Game Cam?
    The CryptoCrew writes "Taken in 2012 of a deer looking at what appears to be a dark figure in the woods. I do not know much about the photo but had ...

    Paranormal Central Bigfoot Report 9-6-2015
    Did the “Sasquatch Investigations of the Rockies” team capture a photo of Bigfoot. 3. Jeff and Theresa Yelek claim to have captured a photo of Bigfoot ...

    THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN DOES SOME MORE THINGS

    The Gonzo Daily - Tuesday
    www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/about.html
     
    What a day! Jessica and I have been flat out and have achieved a lot. I wish that I could actually tell you half of what we did, but I can't. However, I can tell you that Animals & Men #54 is now finished and once Corinna has proofread it will be available to read for free online...
     
    THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
    THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: The Pirates "Lonesome ...
    The Byrds' 10 Greatest Guitar Moments
    Yes conjures the spirits of Chris Squire and Kurt ...
    FRANK ZAPPA: Finding Compelling Characters
     
    Gonzo Weekly #146
    www.gonzoweekly.com
     
    Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Bee and Flower, The Wombats, Joy Division, Fruits de Mer, Insect Ark, Pink Fairies John Martyn, Ringo Starr, David Bowie, Roy Weard, Dogwatch, That Legendary Wooden Lion, Hawkwind, Jon Anderson, and Yes fans had better look out!
     
    The latest issue of Gonzo Weekly (#146) is available to read at www.gonzoweekly.com, and to download at http://www.gonzoweekly.com/pdf/. It has Dana Schechter from Bee and Flower  on the front cover together with an interview with her inside, Doug looks at ELP, Lee dances with The Wombats, Jon muses about Fruits de Mer Records and reviews a book about Ringo Starr, John looks at the legacy of the English Underground on YouTube including music by John Martyn and the Pink Fairies. Thom waxes all poetical like, whilst the legendary Roy Weard continues his regular column. And there is a radio show from M Destiny at Friday Night Progressive, and the second of four Strange Harvest radio specials from the folk wot bring you Strange Fruit, and there is the latest episode of Canterbury Sans Frontières featuring Gong and Matching Mole. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and water opossums with something to lose (OK, nothing to do with small marsupials planning to pray to St Anthony of Padua for an intercession, but I got carried away with things that rhymed with OOOOS) than you can shake a stick at. And the best part is IT's ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!
     
    This issue features:
     
    Fruits de Mer, The Beach Boys, Miley Cyrus, Meat Loaf, Prince, Alan Lomax, Brinsley Schwarz, Mega Dodo, Galahad, Lana del Rey, Barbara Dickson, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Canterbury Sans Frontieres, Owens Boomer Castleman, Joy Beverley, Wes Craven, Rick Wakeman, Hugh Hopper, The Pirates, Ducks Deluxe, The Pirates, Wilko Johnson, Dr. John, Johnny Winter & Uncle John Turner,  Billy Cobham, Brand x, Pete Sears, Frank Zappa, Bee and Flower, Dana Schechter, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Lee Walker, The Wombats, John Brodie-Good, Caravan, Hawkwind, Gong, Pink Fairies, John Martyn, Roy Weard, Lemmy, Yes, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Bring me the Horizon, David Bowie, Neil Nixon, Les Baxter, Midvinterblot
     
     
    Read the previous few issues of Gonzo Weekly:
     
    Issue 144 (Percy Jones cover)
    Issue 143 (Billy Sherwood cover)
    Issue 142 (Daevid Allen and Spirits Burning cover)
    Issue 141 (Rick Wakeman cover)
    Issue 140 (Jaki Windmill cover)
    Issue 139 (Raz cover)
    Issue 138 (Galahad cover)
    Issue 137 (Chris Squire cover)
    Issue 136 (Neil Nixon cover)
    Issue 135 (FNP cover)
     
    All issues from #70 can be downloaded at www.gonzoweekly.com if you prefer. If you have problems downloading, just email me and I will add you to the Gonzo Weekly dropbox. The first 69 issues are archived there as well. Information is power chaps, we have to share it!
     
    You can download the magazine in pdf form HERE:
     
    * The Gonzo Daily is a two way process. If you have any news or want to write for us, please contact me at jon@eclipse.co.uk. If you are an artist and want to showcase your work, or even just say hello please write to me at gonzo@cfz.org.uk. Please copy, paste and spread the word about this magazine as widely as possible. We need people to read us in order to grow, and as soon as it is viable we shall be invading more traditional magaziney areas. Join in the fun, spread the word, and maybe if we all chant loud enough we CAN stop it raining. See you tomorrow...
     
    * The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginatively - The Gonzo Weekly. Find out about it at this link: www.gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/…/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit…
     
    * We should probably mention here, that some of our posts are links to things we have found on the internet that we think are of interest. We are not responsible for spelling or factual errors in other people's websites. Honest guv!
     
    * Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures (and several others) is an old hippy of 56 who - together with an infantile orange cat named after a song by Frank Zappa, and a small kitten totally coincidentally named after one of the Manson Family, purely because she squeaks, puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish, and sometimes a small Indian frog. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the infantile orange cat, and the adventurous kitten?

    NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Tuesday

    ON THIS DAY IN 1664 - The Dutch surrendered New Amsterdam to the British, who then renamed it New York
    And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk

  • Older than the dinosaurs: Lamprey fish return to U...
  • Scientists warn against 'cruel and pointless' badg...
  • Ancient hybridization key to domestic dog's origin...
  • First imagery from echolocation reveals new signal...
  • Tasmanian devils thrown a lifeline by facial tumou...

  • The first mass extinction was caused by animals, n...


  • AND TO WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK... (Music that may have some relevance to items also on this page, or may just reflect my mood on the day)